What is an anti-oxidant and what is it anti-?Healthy Aging Article

What is an anti-oxidant and what is it anti-?Don and Peggy Doman

It all begins with oxygen. We must constantly breathe oxygen to carry on normal cellular metabolism. Oxygen is mostly used in organelles, tiny bodies in our cells called mitochondria. They convert proteins, carbohydrates, and fat into a usable form of energy that enables our cells to carry out necessary chemical processes.

But, oxygen can also result in the creation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), also called free radicals or oxidants, as they are more commonly known. The free radicals will eventually exceed the cell's ability to neutralize them. Normal metabolism produces some of these free radicals naturally, and they damage important biomolecules in our cells.

Oxidative stress is what this condition is called. Certain components of the cellular "house-keeping machinery", including repair systems, tend to decline with age. Then cells don't use oxygen as efficiently, which increases free radical production.

Aging seems to result in greater oxidative stress to our bodies, which results in more oxidative damage to cells and organs - a vicious cycle. Anti-oxidants are the easiest weapons to repress oxidants production.

Antioxidants can be found in several categories of food and vitamin supplements, especially vitamins A, C and D. Easy gains can come from a varied diet rich in colorful fruits, veggies and fatty fish. Here's a list of a few food categories richest in anti-oxidants:

Berries, including acai, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries.

Beta-carotene is found most concentrated in skin-on baked potatoes, carrots and other bright yellow and orange foods, including squash, bananas, and cantaloupe.

Whole grains: 100 percent whole grains are the best source, including whole wheat and multigrain versions of breads like those from Roman Meal, flour, and pasta. Whole wheat pasta has a nutty taste and is widely available in grocery stores now. Other good whole grains are barley, oats, millet and corn.

Legumes, rich in vitamin E, are vegetables that have a pod that splits in two. Many foods rich in vitamin E are also rich in anti-oxidants, such as lentils, soybeans, split peas and a wide variety of beans.

Green tea: one serving of green tea has more anti-oxidants than a serving of broccoli.

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